The Story of Two Parishes

The Story of Two Parishes PDF Author: Thomas Peter Ellis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dolgellau (Wales)
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description

The Story of Two Parishes

The Story of Two Parishes PDF Author: Thomas Peter Ellis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dolgellau (Wales)
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Get Book Here

Book Description


Great Catholic Parishes

Great Catholic Parishes PDF Author: William E. Simon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781594714177
Category : Church work
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
What is really happening in the Catholic Church in North America? Are parishes thriving or dying? Is dissatisfaction among Catholics growing or are they becoming more engaged in the evangelizing mission of the Church? Businessman, professor, and philanthropist, William E. Simon Jr. has been highly influenced by the dynamic and inspiring Catholic parishes he has attended for more than 25 years. In 2012, he founded Parish Catalyst, an organization devoted to researching and supporting the health and development of Catholic parishes. Great Catholic Parishes looks at Simon's insights and the success stories of 244 vibrant parishes to show what makes them great. In 2012 and 2013, Simon and his team studied 244 Catholic parishes to determine what made them exceptional. The study found that all of the parishes shared four foundational practices that led to a profound sense of belonging within their parish communities and a deepening commitment to discipleship: Share leadership by using clergy and lay staff with the best talents and skills to direct the community Foster spiritual maturity and plan for discipleship by offering a variety of formation programs and ministry opportunities to reach parishioners at differing points in their lives Excel on Sundays by dedicating significant time, energy, and money to liturgical celebrations that parishioners and visitors find welcoming Intentionally evangelize by challenging insiders to look outward and providing service programs, social events, global mission opportunities, and pastoral care at key sacramental moments that focus on inviting outsiders to deeper relationship with Christ and the Church. In Great Catholic Parishes, Simon shares personal stories such as finding a welcoming parish home and what he learned about evangelizing from a mission trip to Kenya. Pastors from exceptional parishes offer helpful ideas, strategic advice, and practical strategies, as well as anecdotes about lay ministry development initiatives and reworking religious education so that it is family focused and web-based. You will also learn creative solutions to familiar challenges such as spiritual stagnation among parishioners, reconciling diverse needs in the parish, allowing the pastor to focus on pastoring and preaching, and reaching youth and young adults who leave the Church in disproportionate numbers. Each chapter closes with either crucial takeaways or a summary of practical challenges that will help pastors and leaders focus on growth and excellence. Great Catholic Parishes received an Honorable Mention in the 2017 Catholic Press Association Book Awards: Pastoral Ministry.

Rebuilt

Rebuilt PDF Author: Michael White
Publisher: Ave Maria Press
ISBN: 1594713871
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Drawing on the wisdom gleaned from thriving mega-churches and innovative business leaders while anchoring their vision in the Eucharistic center of Catholic faith, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran present the compelling and inspiring story to how they brought their parish back to life. Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter is a story of stopping everything and changing focus. When their parish reached a breaking point, White and Corcoran asked themselves how they could make the Church matter to Catholics, and they realized the answer was at the heart of the Gospel. Their faithful response not only tripled their weekend mass attendance, but also yielded increased giving, flourishing ministries, and a vibrant, solidly Catholic spiritual revival. White and Corcoran invite all Catholic leaders to share the vision, borrow their strategies, and rebuild their own parishes. They offer a wealth of guidance for anyone with the courage to hear them.

Catholic Parishes of the 21st Century

Catholic Parishes of the 21st Century PDF Author: Charles E. Zech
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190645180
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
A seminal moment in the study of U.S. Catholic parish life came in the 1980s with the publication of a series of reports from the ground-breaking Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life. These reports are now badly outdated, as Catholic dioceses grapple with new challenges that didn't exist in the 80s. Topics that were not considered then, like greater Catholic mobility, increased cultural diversity, and structural re-organization as well as the rise of lay leadership, have attained new significance. This timely book, based on more than a decade of research, provides an in-depth portrait and analysis of the current state of parish life and leadership. Unique in the scope of the research and the timeliness of its findings, the book critically examines the current state of parish life. The authors draw on data from national polls of Catholics, national surveys of parishes, and thousands of in-pew surveys which explore parishioners' needs, experiences, and satisfaction with parish life in the twenty-first century. The book provides a unique 360-degree view of parish life from the perspective of pastors, parish staff, parishioners, as well as the larger Catholic population.

Excellent Catholic Parishes

Excellent Catholic Parishes PDF Author: Paul Wilkes
Publisher: Paulist Press
ISBN: 9780809139927
Category : Parishes
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
The author provides an in-depth look at eight diverse models of excellence, a directory of hundreds of great parishes throughout the country, and listings of those traits common to excellence that can be reproduced in parishes everywhere.

Chicago Católico

Chicago Católico PDF Author: Deborah E. Kanter
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 025205184X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
Today, over one hundred Chicago-area Catholic churches offer Spanish language mass to congregants. How did the city's Mexican population, contained in just two parishes prior to 1960, come to reshape dozens of parishes and neighborhoods? Deborah E. Kanter tells the story of neighborhood change and rebirth in Chicago's Mexican American communities. She unveils a vibrant history of Mexican American and Mexican immigrant relations as remembered by laity and clergy, schoolchildren and their female religious teachers, parish athletes and coaches, European American neighbors, and from the immigrant women who organized as guadalupanas and their husbands who took part in the Holy Name Society. Kanter shows how the newly arrived mixed memories of home into learning the ways of Chicago to create new identities. In an ever-evolving city, Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans’ fierce devotion to their churches transformed neighborhoods such as Pilsen. The first-ever study of Mexican-descent Catholicism in the city, Chicago Católico illuminates a previously unexplored facet of the urban past and provides present-day lessons for American communities undergoing ethnic integration and succession.

Mystery of the Magi

Mystery of the Magi PDF Author: Dwight Longenecker
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1621576566
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
"The perfect Christmas gift for anyone interested in the historical background behind the birth of Jesus of Nazareth." — Robert J. Hutchinson, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible, The Dawn of Christianity, and Searching for Jesus. "Utterly refreshing and encouraging." — Eric Metaxas, New York Times bestselling author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Martin Luther "The best book I know about the Magi." — Sir Colin John Humphreys, Ph.D., author of The Mystery of the Last Supper Modern biblical scholars tend to dismiss the Christmas story of the “wise men from the East” as pious legend. Matthew’s gospel offers few details, but imaginative Christians filled out the story early on, giving us the three kings guided by a magical star who join the adoring shepherds in every Christmas crèche. For many scholars, then, there is no reason to take the gospel story seriously. But are they right? Are the wise men no more than a poetic fancy? In an astonishing feat of detective work, Dwight Longenecker makes a powerful case that the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem really happened. Piecing together the evidence from biblical studies, history, archeology, and astronomy, he goes further, uncovering where they came from, why they came, and what might have happened to them after eluding the murderous King Herod. In the process, he provides a new and fascinating view of the time and place in which Jesus Christ chose to enter the world. The evidence is clear and compelling. The mysterious Magi from the East were in all likelihood astrologers and counselors from the court of the Nabatean king at Petra, where the Hebrew messianic prophecies were well known. The “star” that inspired their journey was a particular planetary alignment—confirmed by computer models—that in the astrological lore of the time portended the birth of a Jewish king. The visitors whose arrival troubled Herod “and all Jerusalem with him” may not have been the turbaned oriental kings of the Christmas carol, but they were real, and by demonstrating that the wise men were no fairy tale, Mystery of the Magi demands a new level of respect for the historical claims of the gospel.

Parish the Thought

Parish the Thought PDF Author: John Bernard Ruane
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451664419
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
In a warm and affectionate narrative that "transports readers back to a time before cable television, cell phones, and the Internet" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), John Bernard Ruane paints a marvelous portrait of his Irish-Catholic boyhood on the southwest side of Chicago in the 1960s. Capturing all the details that perfectly evoke those bygone days for Catholics and baby boomers everywhere, Ruane recounts his formative years donning the navy-and-plaid school uniform of St. Bede's: the priests and nuns; bullies, best friends, and first loves; and most memorable teachers -- including the miniskirted blonde who inspired lust among the fifth-grade boys but was fired for protesting the Vietnam War. Here are stories from the heart of his hardworking, blue-collar family: the good times and bad; sibling rivalries; summers by the lake; delivering newspapers in the frigid Chicago winter; the fire that destroyed the family home; and the loss of their beloved mother to cancer. And here are priceless accounts of Ruane's days as an altar boy: from an embarrassing bell-ringing mishap, to serving a strict pastor who built a magnificent church but couldn't inspire Christian spirit, to the Heaven-sent guitar-playing priest who turned worship around for a generation of youth.

The New Parish

The New Parish PDF Author: Paul Sparks
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830895965
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Headlines rage with big stories about big churches. But tucked away in neighborhoods throughout North America is a profound work of hope quietly unfolding as the gospel takes root in the context of a place. The future of the church is local, connected to the struggles of the people and even to the land itself.

There Are Save Two Churches Only, Volume I

There Are Save Two Churches Only, Volume I PDF Author: D. Christian Markham
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN: 9781480175792
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description
An expose of ancient and modern deceptions, hidden agendas, and overlooked truths. Prepared for the thoughtful reader who is willing to follow the admonition of Patrick Henry: "We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it." (from his Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death speech, March 23, 1775) Compiled and written for the purpose of glorifying God Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Accomplished through the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Visit www.twochurchesonly.com for more information. - What truly is the source and root of all evil and abomination? - Why do politicians and government leaders break their promises? - Why is there so much war when great efforts are made for peace? - Why do society's problems grow steadily worse over the long run? - Why is organized religion such a culprit in worldwide conflicts? - Why do selfish and greedy people thrive while the humble suffer? - I'm an honest, diligent, good person; can't I be rich and influential too? - Why are so many people stressed, depressed and suicidal today? - What is the cause of all this pain? Who is perpetuating it? WHY? The answers to these questions and many more are in this book. They are painful, difficult answers. Proceed with humility, patience and penitence. PLEASE NOTE: US$19.07 is the lowest price that Amazon/Createspace will allow me to price the book. Amazon distribution does not allow coupon codes, but Createspace does. You can order this book through Createspace direct distribution at this site and purchase a copy at the cost of publication: https: //www.createspace.com/4037581 To get a discount that still provides the author a small donation, enter the discount code: 6TE28RZ7 To purchase the book at the cost of manufacture, please enter discount code: EZNH254J AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE: These codes work ONLY when purchasing the book directly through Createspace. Amazon's distribution applies additional fees per each copy purchased, and does not allow discount codes to be used. Please visit www.twochurchesonly.com "